Blood and Ice
by staryu
Summary: Fierra is now exiled, Astra injured. The Moon now sends royal emissaries to Elyson to try to defeat the evil that is Chaos. It's not as easy as it seems when hearts get involved. Set after "Woods and Whispers". AmiZoicite MinakoKunzite UsagiMamoru
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

Lux walked toward the throne room, her heels making a clicking sound with each step that she took. Her face had a calm expression, in contrast to the rage of emotions going on inside her.

She had failed as the leader of the protectors of the Lunarian Kingdom.

Delegating Fierra to the Elyson mission had been her first mistake. She should not have made the call without informing the Queen. She had relied on the Martian princess's natural distrustfulness to people, believing that it would have been enough to make her stay true to the mission. She had not bargained that her sister would end up falling in love with one of those mortals and then forgetting about her duty and her responsibility. She did not blame her for falling in love, although she more than surprised that Fierra, the one who seemed most dedicated in playing her role as one of the Princess's guardians, could simply abandon her path for a mere mortal. The fiery princess's attempt to return to Elyson just when she was rescued constituted as treason, and Lux was forced to send her to exile back to her home planet to cool her heels, giving her strict instructions not to leave Mars until she has been given leave to do so. The worst thing about the entire incident was the fact that Fierra just seemed to accept the sentence without argument, as though while she knew that she had made a mistake, she would still be doing the same thing given another chance.

And then there was Astra. Lux stopped herself from shivering in time, yet chills still ran down her spine when she recalled how she saw her Jovian sister's unconscious form materializing at the steps leading up to the Lunarian Palace. Agua's examination showed that Astra's body was badly injured, and it would take at least several weeks before she would be able to heal completely, an ominous reading considering that the senshi have always been blessed with rapid healing. As it were, she was thankful that her younger sister was alive, albeit unconscious. Lux, however, was forced to admit to herself that she was not looking forward to the day that Astra would regain consciousness, if only because that would mean that she had to be interviewed about what caused her injuries. Agua's reading showed that Astra had recently teleported from somewhere else, which would partially account for her weakness, but the auburn-haired woman was not authorized to teleport, at least, not without being given permission by Lux and Queen Selenity. Lux might have a reputation for toughness, but she was not looking forward to that interview, primarily because she felt that she would be estranged from another one of her sisters at the end of it.

She finally managed to reach the doors leading to the throne room. She took a deep breath before she pushed the doors open, and then curtsied to the throne.

"Rise, Lux," came the soft voice. The blond young woman rose to her feet, and then stared at the Queen of the Lunar Kingdom, the one who had practically served as her foster mother in the past years. "How is Astra?" the silver-haired monarch asked, her tone kind.

"Stable, My Queen, although still unconscious," Lux responded. "Agua believes that she will be able to recover, however."

"We are lucky that we have Agua and the healers of Mercury here," said the queen, in that same calm, gentle voice. "I shudder to think what would have happened to Astra had she not been a senshi." She straightened in her throne then. "Do you have any reports about what you have recently discovered?"

Lux noted the care in the queen's wording. Obviously, the return of Chaos was not something that the Queen intended to announce to the kingdom, at least, not anytime soon. It was a practical move, Lux noted, as premature announcements would have spread panic in the kingdom and would threaten the already fragile Alliance between the Moon and the planets. _Still, _Lux thought to herself, _it would be wiser if at least some people were informed of this so we can prepare for battle. _She knew the consequences of not providing enough information to those who need to know. "Agua confirmed what Fierra told us before… Before her exile." Lux said, struggling a little when she talked about Fierra. It was still a scandal for both the Palace and the Alliance that the Princess of Mars, one of the strongest supporters of the Lunarian Kingdom, could be sent into exile, more so because of the rumors floating around about the cause for her banishment. "The threat has now made its way to Elyson. It's only a matter of time before it would be able to accomplish what we believe are its ultimate plans." Lux hoped that the Queen would be able to understand the meaning behind her cryptic response.

She did. Queen Selenity nodded. "Then I believe it's time for us to push through with our own plans," she said softly.

Lux looked at her in surprise. The only plan that they were able to come up with bordered on the desperate, and it put a lot of individuals, including the Princess, at risk. "Are you sure about that, My Queen?" she asked. "If we push through with that, there will be no senshi on the Moon, not unless we manage to get in contact with the Outers."

Whispers filled the court at the mention of the Outers, the guardians of the planets that have tenuous links to the Alliance. "No," Queen Selenity answered her voice firm. "The Outers have their own responsibilities, as do you. We will proceed as planned."

Lux curtsied again. "As you wish, My Queen." 

xxx

Aaand here's the continuation of "Ashes and Secrets" and "Woods and Whispers". At this point, I'm thinking of merging the stories of Ami/Zoicite, Minako/Kunzite, and Usagi/Mamoru in one story since I still can't seem to separate their stories in my head, but it might change depending on where the story takes me. Thanks for reading (especially for those who have been following the previous stories). Reviews are always welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

Elysion was abuzz, with people's expressions ranging from anxious to angry to excited. The tension was understandable, considering that the other planets have managed to contact the High King, the first time that it has happened in over a thousand years.

While the castle itself was quieter compared to the city itself, the tension here was more palpable, since the delegates from the Lunarian Kingdom were supposed to arrive in the palace grounds. Kaelan felt a pang in his heart as he realized that his brothers, Jonathan and Nathaniel, would not be able to participate in the preparations for the event. Jonathan would have been excited at the prospect of handling the security of the palace, while Nathaniel would have been curious at the thought of meeting magical individuals. The two have been missing for over a fortnight. The blond king had disappeared after he had made his way to Elysion in that secret meeting with Endymion. When Kaelan had gone to check his kingdom, he saw the capital of the East razed to the ground. The castle, while not burned, showed signs of man-made destruction.

Kaelan couldn't keep his hands from clenching whenever he thought of the person who he believed was responsible for his brother's disappearance. Rei, that dark-haired witch. He _had _warned his brother about her, but Jonathan, always stubborn, refused to listen, and now he was gone. Nathaniel too seemed to have disappeared into thin air. Zachary was the one who looked for him, and the strawberry-blond man reported that there were some signs of a struggle in the forest, although there seemed to be no blood.

Kaelan fervently hoped that his brothers were alive and safe. He looked at Zachary then, who took over Jonathan's usual role of ensuring that the security of the palace was maintained. It was obvious that the younger man was feeling the loss of their brothers as keenly as he did. His skin was pale, his expression wan. Zachary had doubled his time in his research, developing new gadgets and gizmos that he would use in order to trace where the threat came from. He still somehow believed that the threat was magical in nature. When Kaelan had pointed out that the threat was none other than Rei, however, Zachary shook his head and pointed out that while he was mistaken about her abilities, that did not mean that she was the threat, since his equipment did not respond to her presence. Zachary seemed to feel personally responsible for the disappearance of their brothers, which was why he devoted more time in his laboratory these days, only stepping out of there for training. Even Kaelan was worried about how much time the strawberry blond spent time in the yard practicing his swordsmanship. Zachary trained like a man possessed. In the past, he avoided training like the very devil, preferring to work in his laboratory, read in the library, or spend time in court. Now he challenged just about anything and anyone that got in the way, becoming reckless enough that he didn't care about drawing blood against the soldiers he was training with.

While Zachary and Kaelan struggled with the disappearance of Jonathan and Nathaniel, it was Endymion who felt the most pain. The five men had a strong bond, with the king at the center of it. Kaelan's eyes flitted to Endymion, who was talking with one of his advisers. It was then that he realized just how much the events have affected his monarch. The king looked as though he had aged several years after their brothers' disappearance. His skin had a gray pallor, his cheeks sunken. Kaelan berated himself. It was his job to take care of the king, and this meant making sure that Endymion did not wallow in his grief, if only to ensure that his health was not affected.

The flash of blue made him alert to what the rest of the job entailed. He strode over to Zachary. "How are things going?"

"Good," replied Zachary as he tapped on a few keys on the machine he was working on. "The ambassador will be arriving within five minutes. So far everything's working as they should."

Kaelan grunted. He still could not fathom the idea of meeting with someone claiming to be an ambassador of the Moon, especially after what happened with Jonathan. Even so, the king had insisted. Endymion must have picked up something when Jonathan went on his mad rush to have that private conversation with him, because it was only then that he had broached the idea of opening communication lines with the Moon.

Even so, their efforts would have been in vain had not someone from the Moon contacted them. Try as he might, Zachary was not able to come up with a device to try to communicate with the Lunarian kingdom. A messenger from the Moon instead came to Elysion to give them information.

Kaelan shook his head at the memory of the messenger. A talking cat materialized out of thin air to tell, nay, command them to expect the arrival of the ambassador, supposedly a high-ranking member of the court.

With his luck, the ambassador would be a talking frog, Kaelan thought moodily.

Zachary's voice roused him from his thoughts. "Arrival of the ambassador in three… Two… One."

A bright blue flash came.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

Zachary took an unwilling step backward, surprised at the sudden appearance of the blue light, coupled with a cold sensation, which, while not unpleasant, was nonetheless shocking in its suddenness.

_Agua, _he thought immediately. The Goddess of Wisdom, who had the power to control the waters and to use ice as a weapon. To prepare for the meeting, he did what he could to research as much information as he could about the Lunarian Kingdom and the planets it was sovereign of. Admittedly, it was not much. Even without the animosity Elyson had of the other worlds, the Moon and its affiliates were secretive, not keen on sharing its technology and wisdom to the planets it was not allied with.

It was this mystery, Zachary surmised, that partly caused the hostilities that led to the Battle of the Gods. Maybe if the divinities had not been as secretive as they were, the people of Elyson would not have acted as they did, stamping out magic in their land. In the Battle of the Gods, the planet had only been marginally involved, although it served as the source of contention between the Divinities and the Shadow that sought to conquer the universe. It was only in the aftermath that Elyson became affected. Having seen for themselves just how destructive magic could be, they wanted no part of it, hence the genocide.

And this is where we are headed once again, Zachary realized. As he looked around, he saw the fear and the anger in the faces of the people in the capital city of their planet. _If we do not stop this now, the same thing will happen again. _He shuddered at the thought. It was only then that he fully realized the importance of the role of the ambassador.

He gazed again at the blue light, noting that it was gaining shape and form. Within a few seconds, it had solidified.

As one, the people gasped, and Zachary was hard-pressed not to gape himself. He had been expecting the ambassador, the one called Agua, was a middle-aged woman, skilled in the arts of diplomacy. Who arrived instead is a young woman in her late teens. What shocked the people, however, was probably not the youth of the ambassador who will mend relations between the Moon Kingdom and Elyson, but her shock of blue hair. No one in the planet had hair in such an unusual shade. Zachary could already hear the people muttering about it being a cursed sign. He chanced a glance at Kaelan, and the tight expression of his commander told him more than words what he thought of the choice of ambassador: that the Lunarian Kingdom was so arrogant enough that it could send someone who was clearly magical to spite them.

Not for nothing though has Zachary served as one of the best ambassadors of Endymion's kingdom. While having a military career, he had come from a family of nobility, and he knew how to handle court politics and intrigue. Summoning a smile on his face, he headed quickly to the Ambassador, who looked unsure of how to treat the muttering of the people.

"Lady Agua, I presume?" Zachary asked, bowing down to her, completely ignoring the indignant gasps of the people. _Probably wondering why one of Elyson's mightiest generals would bow down to a witch, _he thought inwardly. Outwardly, he presented a charming smile, not letting his emotions get the best of him. "My name is Zachary Edon, one of King Endymion's generals and ambassadors."

Agua curtsied as she did. "I am pleased to meet you, Lord Zachary," she said, her tone light and musical. "I am indeed Agua Halcyone ni Hermes, of Mercury."

If anything, the muttering grew louder. He resisted the urge to give them a quelling glance, instead bowing down to the ambassador once again. "I am pleased to meet you, Lady Agua," he said. He proffered his arm. "Shall I take you to the King?" Kaelan had told the monarch to wait in the throne room instead of the grounds, overruling Endymion's wish to be the one to receive the ambassador in his kingdom. It was a wise decision, since no one knew for sure who would teleport to Elyson, but it nonetheless made the king a little sullen. Zachary held back a grin at the thought of his liege pouting, and then promptly became surprised that he was actually able to smile even after what happened.

Agua gave a small nod. Zachary became even more surprised when she took his arm. While she was surrounded by coolness, her grasp on him was warm.

AZAZAZ

Sorry for the delay in updates and for the short chapter. I'm having difficulties in writing these past months, and I still haven't fully pieced together how to write this one.:( Here's hoping I'll be able to finish this story.

Anyway, please read and review.:) Feedback always encourages me to keep on writing, so please let me know what you think!

Edit: I mistakenly put in "Astra" instead of "Agua" when I first uploaded it. Sorry, was really sleepy when I wrote this. Thanks to Jovian Sun for the heads up!


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